Cantilevered wall shelf support



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L.. WNF-OW ETAL CANTILEVERED WALL SHELF SUPPORT .mmlnllll' "lllll Ilm' June v13, 1967 L. 'nm-'ow Ems; 3,325329 V CANTILEVERED WALL SHELF SUPPORT Filed Oct. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /Nl/E/VTORS lO/VEL TIA/FGW United States Patent O 3,325,129 CANTILEVERED WALL SHELF SUPPORT Lionel Tinfow, 24 Oak Place, North Caldwell, NJ. 07006, and Sid'ney V. Winton, 5572 Netherland Ave., New York, N Y. 10471 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,848 Claims. (Cl. 248-243) Our invention relates to wall shelves generally and specifically to a cantilevered wall shelf support. l

A Wide variety of wall shelf supports are available today and a number of these have cantilevered configurations. Of the cantilevered style, many, presently available, comprise a pair of elongated, parallel wall strips having a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration and fastened to the wall by screws, nails and the like. The

Wall strips are provided with a plurality of generally recstable in the vertical plane, since their bases are extremely f small in comparison to their length, they move about their point of junction with the vertical wall strip in a horizontal plane.

To solve this lateral wobblin-g, one horizontal support configuration available today employs a slot extending from the base end thereof outwardly defining a pair of opposed, outwardly flaring Wings at the said base, which wings are intended to provide a more wide, effective base area for the support when engaged with the wall strip. Nevertheless, this expedient has been effective since the base area is too small in comparison to the length of the support and since it is dicult to machine the bottomsV of the flared members so that they not only lie' in a plane cal wall strip resiliently deforms a pair of opposed, outwardly fiaring resilient wings fabricated of the material of the horizontal support between a pair of inclined cam surfaces on the vertical wall strip to provide a resilient, frictional but positive engagement between the horizontal shelf support -and the vertical wall strip thereby locking the horizontal member against movement in either a vertical or horizontal plane.

These objects and advantages as well as other objects and advantages may be Iachieved by our invention, two embodiments of which are illustrated in the drawings in which:

FIGURE ll is a top plan view of a vertical wall strip; FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view of the wall strip shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of a horizontal shelf support;

` FIGURE 4 is a side elevational partially cross-sectional view of the shelf support shown in FIGURE 3 loosely er1- gaged to the vertical wall strip shown in FIGURES 1 and 2;

i FIGURE 5 is an end elevational partially cross-sectional view of the horizontal shelf support shown in FIG- URE 4 tightly interlocked with the wall strip;

FIGURE 6 is an end elevational partially cross-sectional view of an alternative form ofl wall strip interlocked with the shelf support shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational, cross-sectional view of the wall strip and shelf support tightly interlocked with each other.

Referring now to the drawings in. detail, our invention comprises an elongated, generally U-shaped wall str ip 11 which interlocks with a horizontal wall shelf support 12. At least one pair of wall strips `11 are mounted in parallel rel-ation to each other on a wall by means of screws, nails or other fasteners which pass through the strip into the wall.` Each shelf 13 is: supportedby a pair perpendicular to the support but also fits snugly enough against the wall strip to ment thereto.

`In our present invention, we employ a similar horizontal shelf support. However, we have structurally modified the 4wall strip and support as well as their cooperative interaction so that the wings on the support resiliently engage cooperative cam surfaces on the wall strip thereby providing a firm, resilient, frictional engagement across a relatively wide effective base area ofthe said ,horizontal support.

Therefore, it is among the objects and advantages of j our invention to provide a cantilevered wall shelf support which is secure against movement in a horizontal plane.

Another object of our invention is to provide a cantiprovide a rm, secure engagelevered wall shelf support in which resilient,.opposed l,

Wings at the base of the horizontal member cooperatively, resiliently and frictionally engage opposing, inclined cam surfaces on a vertical wall strip.

A further object of our invent-ion is vto provide a cantilevered wall shelf support in which the horizontal shelf support is normally urged into positive seating engagement with a vertical wall strip by the weight-burden of the shelf supported thereby.

Still a further object of our invention is to provide va cant-ilevered vw-all shelf support, the horizontal member of which" can be fabricated of inexpensive, relatively thin resilient material and which may be die-stamped.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a cantilevered wall shelf support in which pressure exerted against the horizontal member in the direction of the vertiof'horizontal shelf supports 12 each interlocked with one of the wall strips 11 in the same horizontal plane. This basic interarrangement of parts is well known in the art.

Our 4vertical wall strip 11 has a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration defining a pair of generally parallel, spaced-apart legs 14 and 15. At the top of each leg, 14 and 15, there is an integral, inwardly extending top wall, respectively 16 and 17. The top walls 14 and 15 are connected by a offset portion 18.

The offset portion 18 comprises a pair of inclined, cam surfaces, respectively 19 and 20 joined by a flat, base leg 21 extending therebetween and generally parallel to the top walls 16 `and 17. The cam faces 19 and 20 flare upwardly and outwardly at an angle of approximately 70 degrees tothe base ieg 21. Although I have illustrated the angular orientation of the camv faces 19 and 20 and prefer the same to rbe 70 degrees to the base leg 21, the same may be any angle between approximately 50 degrees to degrees. In addition, each cam face 19 and 20 should be at the same angle to the base leg 21.

The base leg 21 is provided with a plurality of transverse, longitudinally elongated slots 22, 22, etc., extending end to end along and symmetrical with the longitudinal axis symmetry of the wall strip 11.

The horizontal wall shelf support 12 comprises a relatively thin, flat body member 23 having a straight top edge 24. The top edge 24 terminates at one end of the support 12 in an upwardly extending detent 25. The detent 25 engages the ouside edge of the shelf 13 preventing its accidental outward disengagement from the support 12.

The opposite end of the support 12 defines a pair of offset hooks 26 and 27. The hooks 26 and 27 are vertically spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between adjacent slots 22, 22 in the wall strip 11. The slots 22 and 22 and the feet 26 and 27 are dimensioned so that the hooks can loosely pass therethrough,

A pair of upwardly extending, generally vertical channels 28 and 29, open at their bottom are defined by the hooks 26 and 27, respectively, and the at bottom member 23 of the support 12. The channels 28 and 29 are as proximately as wide as the base leg 21 of the wall strip 11 is thick. `As may be seen in FIGURE 7, when the support 12 is tightly interlocked with the wall strip 11, there is a snug engagement between the base leg 21 of the wall strip 11 and the respective channels 28 and 29 of the support 12.

The support 12 is provided with a slot 30 extending transversely through the body member 23 thereof beginning at a point intermediate the hooks 26 and 27 extending perpendicular to the channels 28 and 29 in a direction toward the end of the support 12 having the detent 25.

The base portion 23 of the support 12 is flared outwardly from the plane thereof in opposite directions on opposite sides of the slot 30. There is thus defined a pair of resilient wings 31 and 32. The bottom of each wing 31 and 32, respectively 33 and 34, lies in the same horizontal plane and is generally parallel to and denes at least one edge of one of the respective channels 28 and 29. The external surface at the bottom of each of the wings 31 and 32 is provided with a bevelled edge, respectively, 35 and 36. The bevelled edges 35 and 36 cooperatively engage the respective cam surfaces 19 and 20 on the wall strip 11.

The wings 31 `and 32 are slightly, inwardly resilient. The degree of resilience, of course, is a function of the material of which the support 12 is fabricated, the thickness thereof and the size of the Wings, largely determined by the length of the slot 30. The support 12 is interlocked with the strip 11 by passing the hooks 26 and 27 through adjacent slots 22, 22 in the wall strip 11. Inward movement of the support 12 with respect to the wall strip 11 causes the bevelled corners 35 and 36 of the wings 31 and 32 to engage respectively the opposed cam surfaces 19 and 20 on the wall strip 11. Moderate force exerted on the support 12 in a direction perpendicular and inwardly with respect to the base leg 21 of the Wall strip 11 produces a resilient inward deflection of the Wings 31 and 3-2. At the same time, downward movement of the support 12 in the direction of the open bottoms of the respective channels 28 and 29 cause an interlock between the channels 28 and 29 and the base leg 21 of the offset portion 18 of the wall strip 11. The edges of the hooks 26 and 27 adjacent to the channels 28 and 29 may be bevelled or invested with a 45-degree angle to aid in starting the interlock action. When the interlock is complete, the wings 31 and 32 have sufficiently deflected inwardly to permit the bottom edges thereof, respectively 33 and 34 to engage or nearly engage the base leg 21 of the wall strip 11. The normal outward resilience of the wings 31 and 32 against the respective cam surfaces 19 and 20 produces a firm resilent, frictional engagement and support of the shelf support 12 with the wall strip 11 thereby preventing movement of' the support 12 in the horizontal plane. Of course, the interlock between the hooks 26 and 27 of the support 12 and the base leg 21 of the wall strip 11 positively engages the horizontal support 12 to the wall strip 11 and prevents movement in the vertical plane.

In FIGURE 6, we have illustrated an alternative wall wall strip structure in which the cam surfaces 40 and 41 are identical in structure and function to the corresponding cam surfaces 19 and 20 in the form shown in FIG- URES l, 3 and 4. However, in FIGURE 6, a second offset 42 is provided in the wall strip 11,. Nevertheless,

Wings 31 and 32 of the horizontal support 12 are re.

siliently compressed between the cam surfaces 40 and 41 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 5. The bottom edges of the wings 31 and 32, respectively 33 and 34,

nearly engage the first offset base leg 43, 43 of the wall strip 11 providing the same structural support as described above with respect to the form shown in FIG- URE 5.

The foregoing description is merely intended to illustrate an embodiment of the invention. The component parts have been shown and described. They each may have substitutes which -may perform a substantially similar function; such substitutes may be known as proper substitutes for the said components and may have actually been known or invented before the present invention; these substitutes are contemplated as being within the scope of the appended claims, although they are not specifically catalogued herein.

We claim:

1. A cantilevered wall shelf support comprising,

(a) an elongated wall strip having a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration,

(b) an offset in the wall strip defining a pair of spaced apart cam surfaces and a base leg therebetween,

. (c) the cam surfaces diverging from each other outwardly from the base leg and extending the length of the wall strip,

(d) the -base leg having a plurality of spaced apart,

longitudinally elongated transverse slots,

(e) a horizontal shelf support,

(f) a pair of spaced apart hooks on one end of the support extending through slots in the base leg of the wall strip, the hooks each defining with the support a blind channel having one open end,

(g) a pair of opposed resilient wings on the support adjacent to the hooks,

(h) the wings deflecting inwardly to resiliently and frictionally engage the respective cam surfaces of the wall strip when the base leg adjacent to its slots is seated within the said channels.

2. A cantilevered wall shelf support comprising,

(a) the structure in accordance with claim 1 in which,

(b) the cam surfaces are each oriented at an external angle of between approximately 50 degrees and approximately degrees with the base leg.

3. A cantilevered wall shelf support comprising,

(a) the structure in accordance with claim 1 in which,

(b) the support has a cut extending from between the hooks outwardly therefrom,

(c) the support is deformed outwardly from its plane in opposite directions on opposite sides of the cut to define the said wings.

4. A cantilevered wall shelf support comprising,

(a) the structure in accordance with claim 1 and,

(b) the bottom external edge of each wing being rounded at its point of contact with the cam surface.

5. A cantilevered wall shelf support comprising,

(a) the structure in accordance with claim 1 in which,

(b) the cam surfaces are each oriented at an external angle of approximately 70 degrees with the base leg.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CANTILEVERED WALL SHELF SUPPORT COMPRISING, (A) AN ELONGATED WALL STRIP HAVING A GENERALLY U-SHAPED CROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION, (B) AN OFFSET IN THE WALL STRIP DEFINING A PAIR OF SPACED APART CAM SURFACES AND A BASE LEG THEREBETWEEN, (C) THE CAM SURFACES DIVERGING FROM EACH OTHER OUTWARDLY FROM THE BASE LEG AND EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF THE WALL STRIP, (D) THE BASE LEG HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART, LONGITUDINALLY ELONGATED TRANSVERSE SLOTS, (E) A HORIZONTAL SHELF SUPPORT, (F) A PAIR OF SPACED APART HOOKS ON ONE END OF THE SUPPORT EXTENDING THROUGH SLOTS IN THE BASE LEG OF THE WALL STRIP, THE HOOKS EACH DEFINING WITH THE SUPPORT A BLIND CHANNEL HAVING ONE OPEN END, (G) A PAIR OF OPPOSED RESILIENT WINGS ON THE SUPPORT ADJACENT TO THE HOOKS, (H) THE WINGS DEFLECTING INWARDLY TO RESILIENTLY AND FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE THE RESPECTIVE CAM SURFACES OF THE WALL STRIP WHEN THE BASE LEG ADJACENT TO ITS SLOTS IS SEATED WITHIN THE SAID CHANNELS. 